Gary Johnson Differs Vastly From Republicans on Environmental Issues

Cliffe SharpeAug 23

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Cliffe SharpeAug 23

Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson further distanced himself from the Republican Party by saying that he believed in man-made climate change and proposing a "carbon fee" which would be used to punish those who exceeded certain carbon emissions standards. In a statement to an Alaskan newspaper, Johnson said:

"I do believe that climate change is occurring...I do believe that it is man-caused” and “that there can be and is a free-market approach to climate change" -Gary Johnson

Johnson also proposed a fee as opposed to a tax on companies who violated certain threshold emissions. Johnson was not clear on how this would differ from a tax but said he didn't "want to do anything that harms jobs". Republican nominee Donald Trump has repeatedly said that any additional carbon regulations are unnecessary, saying:

"The Obama administration committed an overreach that punishes rather than helps Americans...Under my administration, all EPA rules will be reviewed. Any regulation that imposes undue costs on business enterprises will be eliminated." -Donald Trump